As I have been studying the Psalms over the last few weeks I've been struck by how the lament Psalms help us express and respond to the difficulties of life.
How do we make sense of the daily struggle in life?
This is a question that God’s people have always had to deal with, and is at the heart of Psalm 90. In it the Psalmist gives the community of God’s people the way to understand and grapple with the reality of a life filled with trouble. What is immediately noticeable in this psalm is the collective language. We are not alone.
The Psalm starts by calling out to the everlasting and loving God who has always been a place of refuge for his people, before frankly lamenting the reality of the brevity of life and its seemingly endless trouble until it ends in death. The heart of the problem is that all of life is lived under God’s judgement of sin.
Thankfully the Psalm doesn’t just raise the problem and leave us to look for our own solution to turn to. The close of Psalm 90 provides a rich and beautiful solution as it call on our great God to have mercy on us, to satisfy us with his steadfast love, and for that satisfaction to override struggle with joy. Years later, the apostle Peter writes these words to Christians doing it tough:
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.” (1 Peter 1:3-4a)
In Jesus Christ, we can clearly see that God has poured out that mercy for all who trust in Jesus, and given us a real and guaranteed hope that will truly satisfy!
Shane and Shane have based a song off Psalm 90 which I have been enjoying listening to – have a listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taS5tbvtMDU
Your brother
Dave Giesbers
eNews - 15th October 2021